


Peter Pan's Got Kids?

by EllieAustin



Category: Hook (1991), Peter Pan & Related Fandoms, Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 18:46:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9780314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieAustin/pseuds/EllieAustin
Summary: Peter Pan finds himself face to face with Captain James Hook, deceased, and a man Mr Smee insists is the real Peter Pan, grown up. Who is the real Pan? And will they be able to work together to rescue Jack and Maggie from the vengeful pirate captain?Based on the film Hook (1991). Be sure to watch the film before reading this.





	

Chapter 1

Peter Pan was running through the forest of the Never Never Land. There was no reason for this - he just felt like it; even flying could become tedious at times. Running made his heart pound and his muscles ache... it was just as, if not more exhilarating!

Nothing seemed strange about this gloriously sunny day; brightly plumed birds dove through the air, a soft breeze floated about the trees, and the sound of the ocean grew ever closer. Of course, Peter missed all this gentle beauty, running too fast and not caring to take note.

He slowed, his exertion finally taking its toll, and slumped down to the ground, his back resting against a tree. He looked about him, considering what to do next. He and Tinker Bell had embarked on a game of Hide and Seek four days ago (or thereabouts) and Peter had not seen her since. This was not at all surprising or unusual, because if you never got called in for supper or bedtime you wouldn’t stop playing either. 

Peter was currently deciding whether to continue his search for Tink, but concluded he was still bored of Hide and Seek. He also knew Tinker Bell would eventually turn up sooner or later (probably sooner, for fear Peter would forget her). No, at this moment Peter would much more like a good fight with a pirate or two... but the pirates were gone. After Peter’s heroic rescue of the Wendy Lady and dazzling defeat of the sinister Captain Hook, all the pirate crew had jumped ship, never to be seen or heard of again (except in stories).

Not for the first time, but for the first time he could remember, Peter Pan was bored. Completely, utterly, and intolerably bored. Getting to his feet, he began ambling onwards to nowhere in particular. A race against the mermaids seemed a suitably dangerous and exciting way to pass the time; last time he had almost been drowned (apparently).

Dragging his heels as he went and in no hurry to get there, Peter began to dawdle. He didn’t know it was called dawdling because he’d never been scolded for it... to Peter it was just walking. He swung on a low branch, turned cartwheels, hop-scotched and skipped his way onwards. He came to a hollow tree-trunk leaning almost vertically against a sudden sloping hillside, and crawled through it before performing a rather wobbly handstand and landing on his bum.

There was now a chill in the air, Peter noticed, the sky dulling ever so slightly. As Peter approached the forest’s edge that gave way to the beach, he paused. He could hear shouts, jeering; the sound of a crowd. 

Peter immediately crouched low to the ground, his instincts taking over. He stayed there, silent and motionless and listened. He felt a sharp pang of surprise as he deciphered the words that the crowd were now chanting: “Long live the Hook”

His curiosity growing, Peter crawled towards the beach, keeping within the undergrowth. What he saw caused his curiosity to momentarily turn to confusion, for there, just a little way to his left were the outskirts of a port town.  
Built with a mishmash of timber and ransacked ships, this strange settlement seemed more like a shantytown, with structures and dwellings erected where ever possible, even branching out over the sea.

Peter blinked at the sight of it; this town had definitely not been there earlier today. But here it was, fully formed and aged, looking as though it had been there for years.

A man’s screams brought Peter back from his thoughts, and he listened as the crowd... crew... taunted and laughed. But Peter was still too far away to understand what was going on, so he stood up and began to walk towards the pirate town. Anyone else would have crept, but Peter almost swaggered. Luckily for him, there were not many people about, but he was amazed to see some of those who were were women! This almost caused Peter to stop and stare, but he carried on, not wanting to draw attention... just yet.

Crouching behind some barrels on the pier, Peter looked up at the huge and magnificent Galleon he thought had drifted away from the island long ago. The chanting, which had died down on Peter’s approach, now began again and Peter knew for sure those voices were chanting for Hook.

Now, if Tinker Bell had been present she would have been able to warn Peter that he had attracted some attention; a particularly unwashed member of the crew had been leaning against one of the wooden buildings, chewing bread and gulping wine, but the boy who had snuck behind the barrels just in front of him had caught his eye. It was obviously a bloody Lost Boy, in which case he should probably just shoot the little buggar, but he thought there might be a slim chance of a reward, so he gestured to two of the other men, and began closing in. 

Chapter 2

Peter felt constricting arms wrap around his waist, and a second later he was hauled off his feet by the wretched, stinking sailor. Immediately, Peter began to kick furiously. His hands were still free, and he desperately struggled to pull away the pirate arms that were locked around him. 

He found himself painfully crushed against the same barrels he had been hiding behind, and bit back a scream as another pirate roughly grabbed him by the hair. Peter kept fighting, but his hands were quickly bound, and he could do little more than kick and hiss insults at his captors.

A third man approached Peter with a strange expression on his leathery face; He pulled Peter’s head up by the hair, ignoring Peter’s attempts to bite and kick him, and stared at the feral boy before him. A glow of recognition lighted the pirate’s eyes, which was soon followed by uncontrollable excitement.

“Mates! This ‘ere be Peter Pan!” His shipmates merely laughed in disbelief.

“Don’t be daft... Pan’s got brats of his own now! Remember what the Cap’n said... He’s been over to kidnap ‘em. Stands to reason Pan must be grown if he’s got children!”

All the while, Peter carried on lashing out, trying to gain his freedom, not listening to the pirates’ argument. 

“I tell you, it’s him! It’s Pan! The trap’s worked... and it was us what caught ‘im!” The other two surveyed the wriggling boy once more. Certainly he looked like Pan, though their memory of his face had faded. He was clad in skeleton leaves, and held an unruly appearance, with unkempt auburn hair and striking blue eyes. Perhaps this really was the Pan. And if this was he, then they were surly in for a grand reward from their Captain!

Chapter 3

Hook stared into the face of the man before him; middle-aged and beer-bellied, he could not believe what his bo’sun had assured him of; this was not Pan.

“Is it you? My great and worthy opponent? But it can’t be! Not this pitiful, spineless, pasty, bloated codfish I see before me. You’re not even a shadow of Peter Pan.”

The pathetic lubber smiled and nodded frantically. He obviously didn’t think so, either.

“Captain!” The excited shout came from the gangplank, and Hook turned to see his crew clearing the way for three of their shipmates.

“Cap’n Hook, sir! We got ‘im! Aye! We got ‘im, sir! Little devil put up a fierce struggle, but we got ‘im, and he’s tied up tight now, sir!”

Hook considered the words of this odious sailor for a moment, his head tilting slightly to one side in thought, but he saw he’d get no explanation without asking.

“What in blazes are you talking about, Turely?” Hook controlled the urge to strike the idiot (or shoot him).

“Peter Pan, sir” answered Turely, with a look of confusion. “Your plan worked perfectly, Cap’n! We caught him about to sneak aboard.”

Confusion now touching his own features, Hook turned to look back at the man Smee had just proved to be Peter Pan. He was about to explain this to the three hapless fools before him, when they pulled from between them, the very boy Hook had been obsessing about for all these years.

Peter was still desperately struggling against his bonds, and the force from his captors pushing him forward sent him crashing to the deck. He continued to wriggle for his freedom, unaware of the men above him, exchanging looks of astonishment.

Hook sent an angry glare towards his bo’sun, who averted his gaze fearfully. 

“Pick him up.” ordered the Captain, and Peter found himself being dragged up off the deck, and made to stand face to face with a man he knew to be dead.

“Hook.” He mumbled under his breath. The dark man gave him a cold smile as his eyes bore into the boy before him.

“Peter Pan.” He replied, with relish. The child seemed more fearful of him than he remembered, but Hook put this down to the length of time since they last met. What struck him then, was that Pan had not aged; Hook had been certain that Wendy had finally convinced Peter to stay with her and grow up, yet here he was, still a child of no more than fourteen.

“Where have you been, Peter?”

“Nowhere.” From the look on Pan’s face, Hook knew he was telling the truth, or at least believed he was.

“Mr Smee...” The Captain’s thoughts returned to the mess his bumbling bo’sun had created; making him look foolish in front of the rest of the crew would serve as a good punishment. “Peter Pan has certainly returned, has he not?” Hook began to take slow steps back towards his original captive. “Now, which one do you think it is?” His words dripped with sarcasm, and Smee knew he was in trouble.

“Begging your pardon, Cap’n, sir... but I know this man is Peter Pan! I’ve got his dental records, his medical...”

“Mr Smee!” The intensity of Hook’s voice silenced the entire ship, and even brought an end to Peter’s continued struggling. “I don’t care for your excuses! Because of your incompetence, we have kidnapped the children of some nobody, whom you expect me to believe, is Peter Pan?! Well, I think this child’s sudden appearance has proved you wrong!” 

Peter watched his old enemy as he rambled on, pacing the deck in growing agitation. But what really intrigued Peter was how the man had aged; physically aged. His hair was still as black as coal, and his piercing eyes were still as unsettling, but the skin of his face was visibly rougher than Peter remembered, with deepening wrinkles and pockmarks of age.

Where ever Hook had been all this time, it couldn’t have been Neverland.

“Captain, sir... please...” Smee’s legs were visibly trembling as he removed his cap, and twisted it in his hands. “It is possible that this boy is the imposter... I wouldn’t put it past those Lost Boys to play a trick like this. It could be fairy magic!”

Hook paused in his pacing, considering what Smee was saying. It was possible that the boy, although the spitting image of Pan, was not. Fairies were powerful creatures, and mischievous enough to find this sort of trickery funny.

“Very well, Smee. I’ll allow you to attempt to disprove our own eyes.”

“Thank ye, Captain, sir.”

Both men turned their attention to the newest prisoner, and Peter’s heart leapt as they started to approach him. Filled with panic, Peter lashed out, kicking with his unrestrained legs, and desperately trying to wriggle free of his captors.

He immediately halted his efforts when he felt a cold blade press against his neck. 

Gasping for breath and afraid to move, Peter could only watch as Hook and Smee began tracing his body for scars. He hissed as Smee roughly poked and prodded, examining the scar on the left side of Peter’s abdomen. His head uncomfortably pulled back by the pirate holding him, Peter could not see what they were doing, but he felt increasingly uneasy at Captain Hook’s close proximity.

“Let’s compare and contrast.” The Captain said as he rose back to his full height. At his words, Peter felt the knife at his neck disappear, but before he could do anything, he was manhandled forward, and brought to stand next to a grown-up, restrained by pirates, like himself.

Once again, both Hook and Smee inspected the scars. They were completely identical, except Banning’s was more faded with age, and stretched with growth; inflicted by the Captain’s own hook, so many years before. Both prisoners had received the same injury.

Hook stared at the boy he recognised so well. He could tell by his eyes, this was indeed Peter Pan. He would never forget those eyes... eyes that had taunted him, kindled within him a potent hatred, and the thirst for a child’s blood. This was Pan, but so was the man that stood beside him.

Hook carefully considered the situation for a moment. He did not know how it was possible, but the boy before him had to be a younger version of the man. Perhaps this was the cause of fairy magic, after all.

“How did you get here, Peter?” Hook asked, casually. Peter did not like his friendly tone; it always meant Hook was plotting something wicked.

“I walked. Why?” Instead of an answer, Hook painfully grabbed a handful of Peter’s hair, yanking his head back roughly. Before Peter knew what was happening, he felt the sharp steel of Hook’s claw dig into his left collarbone, ripping away some of his flesh. Peter screamed out at the sudden, agonizing, pain, and couldn’t stop the tears from escaping down his cheeks.

As his head was released, he crumpled forward, but was caught by a pirate before he could hit the floor. 

Hook ignored the damage he had inflicted on the boy, his attention now directed at his fully grown counterpart. The crew gathered around too, only to watch in amazement as a scar, faint at first, started to appear in the exact same place as the wound on the boy.  
“Captain... what’s...?” Smee gawped in astonishment, not yet comprehending the meaning of this display.

“They are both Pan.” Hook burst into a fit of sinister laughter. “They are both Peter Pan!”

Chapter 4

Peter did not like the way Hook was leering at him. His shoulder stung, the pain increased by the strong hold of the pirate restraining him.

“Begging ya pardon, Captain, Sir...” bumbled Smee “but what do you mean, ‘They’re both Pan?’” Hook’s gaze remained locked on the boy before him. The thought that he’d actually be able to slaughter the boy, instead of an unfamiliar man, was overwhelming. 

But Hook’s mind works in dark and twisted ways, and he decided a little fun at his enemy’s expense was more than fair.

Ignoring his bo’sun, he addressed the two pirates holding Pan. “Untie his hands and put him in the net with the others.”

Peter found himself being, once more, dragged along the deck. He was still struggling with all his might, and resisted his captors as best he could, but the continual battle was wearing him out. 

As the rest of the crew parted to let them pass, Peter looked up and could see what Hook had been talking about; two children, not much younger than him, were suspended a few feet above the deck in a large net. Both the boy and girl looked frightened, and both jumped a little as the huge net was lowered back down into the cargo-hold, so that its opening descended to ground-level.

When they reached their goal, Peter’s bonds were cut. Before he could move, he was roughly spun around by the shoulders, to come face to face with one of the ugly characters who had been dragging him. 

“Right... listen here, my lad... no funny business, or it’ll be the worse for you.” He shook Peter a little, to emphasize his threat. This stunned Peter into silence for a moment, their eyes burrowing into each others, but Peter could not resist; he promptly spat into the man’s face (who he had recognised to be Alf Mason). Mason’s hands went up instinctively to wipe his eyes, freeing Peter of his grip.

As thanks, the boy immediately thumped him as hard as he could, directly on the nose, and turned to run. But the pirate was faster than the boy had expected, and grabbed Peter’s wrist almost at once.

Peter screamed, bit and kicked in quick succession, but Alf Mason’s temper was at an end. Pan’s voice was knocked from him as the pirate’s hand connected with his cheek and sent him sprawling. He could almost see stars, and had no time to react before the man had hoisted him off his feet.

Mason’s face was filled with anger and hatred, and Peter couldn’t help but feel afraid.

“Stop dallying, man! Get him into the net!” Mason’s mind seemed to snap back to the present at the sound of his Captain’s voice. He gave one more fierce look into Peter’s eyes, and then set him back down on deck.

A few other members of the crew began unknotting the top of the net, just enough to make a gap. When they had finished, Alf Mason prepared to lift Peter again, but Peter was not done fighting. He recommenced his efforts to struggle free from the pirate’s grasp, but was thwarted as other crew-members helped to force him, head-first, into the net. 

Peter tried not to land on the two children already imprisoned, but he couldn’t help rolling into the boy, and kicking the little girl with his foot. He gave her an apologetic glance, but hastily turned his attention to the knotting of the net. He grappled with the hands of the pirates who were refastening the knots and closing the gap, but there were too many of them intent on pushing him back.

Once they were done, Peter continued to try and loosen the ropes, even as the net began to ascend again. 

Remembering his dagger, Peter unsheathed the blade and started cutting. But all eyes were on him, and several pirates rushed forward to disarm him. Almost at once, his dagger was wrenched from his hand.

“Hoist and raise the kiddies!” Hook smirked at Peter as his order was complied with. The children began shouting for their father and their freedom, but Pan continued to focus his attention on the knots. As he did so, he could just register what Hook was saying, on the deck below.

“I’ll make you a deal, Mr Chairman of the board.” He was now addressing the man he had forced Peter to stand next to. “Fly up there and touch the outstretched fingers of your frightened children, and I’ll set them free.”

The man tittered nervously as he replied; “I can’t fly!”

“Come on! Explode out of there... Stop the charade! Free your children!” Hook leaned forward at the man’s gesture for him to come closer, and listened as he whispered in his ear. “I beg your pardon?” Banning repeated what he had said, and received a disbelieving look from the Captain, and a smirk of astonishment. “You must be joking.” Hook smirked even more as he raised his voice for all to hear. “Peter Pan has a real problem with heights.”

The entire crew, Captain included, erupted with laughter, and drowned out Banning’s embarrassed “I’m not Peter Pan.”

Peter’s attention had been caught by the use of his name, but he couldn’t for the life of him, understand what was going on. The man on deck was these children’s father; he’d gathered that much. But why did Hook want them? And why had the old codfish stated he, Peter Pan, was afraid of heights?

“What are you on about, codfish? I could fly all the way to the moon and not get scared!”

“Mind your mouth, boy! You’re mine, now.”

“I’m not yours and I never will be! Besides, what ya gonna do about it?!” Peter still knew exactly how to goad Hook into a temper, and he was hoping this would cause Hook to lower the net in order to punish him. To his dismay, Hook grinned, secretly making a mental note of the boy’s need of a good thrashing later, and turned away.

As Pan and Hook had been arguing, Banning had approached the mast. “It’s ok. Hang on, son. I’m coming, sweetheart.” he responded to his children’s ongoing cries for help. “Could somebody give me a hand?”

“I already have.” A ripple of apprehension went out across the crew, at their Captain’s gibe.

Peter watched the man’s slow and unsteady progress as he climbed the mast and crawled along the yardarm; all the while the crew were jeering him, and his two children were urging him on. “Save us, daddy!”

“’Save me, daddy!’” one crew-member mocked.

Hook was still grinning, but seemed a little exacerbated at Banning’s behaviour. “We know who you are! What new game is this, Peter? Fly! Stop pretending!”

“Fly! I know it’s you!” shouted Smee, over the noise of the crowd. He seemed more irritated than his Captain, something Peter had never seen before.

By now, Banning was directly opposite Peter and his children – who already had their hands outstretched as far as possible. “All you have to do is touch our fingers and we’ll be able to go home.” The little girl had such hope in her voice, which Peter could already see was misplaced.

“Touch them, Peter, and it’s all been just a bad dream. Just reach out, and touch them.” Pan glared down a Hook; he was obviously enjoying causing this man and his children pain.

“Flap your arms and fly!” laughed another member of the crew.

Peter resolved to help. Moving forward from where he’d been behind the other children, he too stretched out his hand towards their father. He received a quick, grateful look from the boy, then both returned their attention to the task at hand.

“Reach!” Jack encouraged.

“Come on, daddy... mummy could do it!” Despair had nearly replaced Maggie’s hope.

“Smee, I don’t understand. Why doesn’t he fly? He’s a fop Peter Pan!” Hook was becoming frustrated, and bored with his new game.

“He’s Peter Pan alright, Captain. He’s just been away from Neverland so long his mind’s been ‘junktified’. He’s forgotten everything.” A hush spread out across the crew. The sadness of the situation seemed to reach even them. 

Jack could see the anguish in his father’s eyes. “Please don’t give up.” He could feel his own despair mounting. “Dad... I wanna go home.”

Peter could not explain why, but he felt a great sorrow just then. Not used to such strong emotions, he quickly shook it off by resolving to help further.

Balancing precariously on the ropes of the net, Peter got to his feet, and stood spread-eagled with his hands gripping opposite sides of the net. Slowly, he began shifting his weight from one side to another, until the net started rocking.

Jack quickly grasped the plan, and joined Peter, swinging his body back and forth, causing the net to swing also.

Maggie, too, joined in, and soon the momentum of the net was building, growing closer to Banning with each swing.

Renewed with fresh hope, Banning gathered the courage to reach out his hand, once more, towards the children. Seeing his chance, Peter dived forward and grasped the man’s hand with his own. 

Pan smiled at him, and Peter Banning smiled back.

An angry growl broke the silence that had settled on the ship. Hook glared up at Pan, his hatred boiling over. It was just like the cocky little brat to ruin his fun and save the day. Well... not this time!

Hook bounded over to the mast, sword drawn, and sliced through the rope that was holding up the net. Before Peter or Banning knew what was happening, the netting sagged, and the children dropped like stones. 

Peter cried out as the ropes tightened against his skin, being pulled taught by the weight of Jack and Maggie, clinging onto the netting for dear life. Banning also huffed in pain, feeling his shoulder being wrenched from its socket.

“Hold on!” Peter felt his hand slipping, and Banning felt it to. They could all hear the cruel laughter of Hook, relishing the sight of their pain and fear. “Please! Help!” he called to the pirate captain. His pleas were echoed by his children, screaming and crying in terror.  
“What? No call for help from Master Pan? Hook purred, mockingly. “You’re going to have to ask nicely, boy.” Peter gritted his teeth, unsurprised at Hook’s request, but utterly disgusted by it. He knew it was just what the Captain wanted; for Peter to beg for his help, his mercy.

Banning looked at the boy, beseechingly. “Please! I can’t hold you!” 

Pan thought of the two children below him, dangling dangerously, ten feet above deck. In a tremendous effort, Peter bit back his pride. “Please!” He shouted. That was enough for Hook. Giving the signal, his crew moved forward to help the children down.

Chapter 5 

Peter clasped a hand to his face where Hook had struck him. He had expected as much, but the Captain had given him no time to brace himself, attacking as soon as the boy’s feet had touched the ground. 

Tears stung his eyes as he scowled at the man, defiantly.

Hook grabbed the back of the boy’s neck with his good hand, and began to drag him up the steps, towards his cabin. Pausing in their progress, the Captain turned momentarily to his crew. “Kill them. Kill them all.”

Shear horror filled Peter’s face, which was then joined with anger. “You said they could go free! You promised to take them home!”

Hook pulled Peter closer, his dark eyes flaring. “I said I would release the children if Mr Banning could touch their fingers... not yours!”

“That’s not fair! You dirty, lying, traitorous monster!” Pan let out a scream as Hook’s grip became painful. But before Hook could do anything more, he was distracted by a bright light appearing in front of his face.

“Tink! Tinkerbell!” The Captain shook Pan into silence, and then returned his attention to the fairy before him.

“Ah. Miss Bell. How delightful to see you.”

“Captain.” The tiny creature bowed slightly in greeting. “I just felt I should warn you, Hook... if you kill them, you will regret it.”

“I beg your pardon?” Hook was trying not to smile. “I suppose you’ll be the one to avenge them?” The crew burst into laughter again.

“It’s worse than that, Captain. Haven’t you realised where this boy is from?” She gestured down to Peter, and Hook’s gaze followed. “He’s from the past! Somehow he got here, and if you kill him, it’ll mean nothing.”

“Nothing? What do you mean ‘nothing’?!” Peter felt Hook’s grip on him begin to tighten again. He was watching Tink intently, wondering why she wouldn’t look at him. Perhaps she was cross about Hide and Seek.

“Tink...”

“Shut it!”

“I mean that, if you kill this Peter Pan, you won’t remember doing so, because in his time this hasn’t happened yet. All you’ll be left with is the memory of Pan disappearing one day, and never coming back. You won’t know what happened to him, because he won’t have grown up and had children, so you couldn’t have kidnapped them, and we wouldn’t be here, now!”

The fairy gasped for breath. All eyes stared at her, dumbfounded.

“What?” asked Hook, simply.

The winged girl glared at him. “Do I have to spell it out?! If you kill him, you won’t remember, so you’ll get none of the satisfaction. You won’t know that you got your revenge!”

Comprehension washed over the Captain. “You mean to say, the only way I can have my revenge, is to extract it from him?!” He pointed his hook at Banning, who was now balancing on the edge of the plank, being prepared to fulfil the captain’s last order.

“One week and I’ll get him in shape, and you can have your dirty, old war.” Hook looked doubtful. It was well known across the island that he had been planning to lure Pan back in order to face him in combat, once again; it would be the war to end all wars! But he hadn’t truly considered the changes that time would have brought to Peter. Now he was nothing more than a middle-aged, beer-bellied Lawyer!

Tinkerbell could see the Captain hesitating. “You promised people the war of the century! Your whole life has been building to this moment. Mortal combat... Glory... Hook versus Pan!”

The Captain gestured toward Banning again. “That is not Pan.” 

Tinkerbell could see what he meant; Peter had changed, but she knew it was him – No one had that smell. 

The arrival of the boy-Peter was not something she had bargained on however, for obvious reasons. She still couldn’t bring herself to look at him, not wanting to be reminded of all that she’d lost, and it broke her heart to hear him call her name.  
She returned her attention to Hook, who had been pacing back a forth in consideration, but had now come to a stop.

“Two days.”

“Four. Bare minimum for a decent Pan.”

“Three. Final offer.”

She smiled. “Done.”

Hook extended his hook to her, and she shook the tip with her tiny hand. “And you’d better deliver, Miss Bell... or no amount of clapping will bring you back from where I will send you.”

A murmur broke through the crew, and he turned to them. “Hear me, men. For reasons of good form, I’ve decided that the so called Pan will return in three days to commence the arbitrament of the sword. Smee, translate.”

The bo’sun willingly obliged. “In three days we’re gonna have a war! A battle between good and evil, to the death!”

The crew erupted in shouts of applause. One particularly excited man, standing next to the plank, flung his arms in the air, consequently knocking Banning off balance. After watching Banning plunge into the sea, he turned back to the rest of the men.

“Oops.”

Chapter 6

Peter struggled against the bonds that secured him to a chair. He was in Hook’s cabin, a bad place to be. Try as he might, he could not get loose nor get his mouth close enough to chew through the rope that restrained him; but try he did. 

After that man had fallen off the plank, his children had been carried away by a couple of burly seadogs. Peter wished he knew where to. He hated the thought of them tied up somewhere. At least Hook’s cabin was clean... And it wasn’t like Peter had never been held prisoner before. He was sure Jack and Maggie would be new to the unpleasant experience.

He had an almost all-consuming desire to rescue them. This was not entirely unusual; Peter enjoyed rescuing people... But this feeling was stronger than most, and was felt for children he had barely even met! 

This was truly unsettling, especially considering Hook’s ridiculous theory that those children were somehow his, the children of Peter Pan. He had argued against this idiotic idea ever since Hook proposed it. Peter’s constant objections to the contrary left him with several large bruises, but even a beating could not silence his conviction.

Now he was alone; a predictable tactic of Captain Hook’s, designed to create fear through anticipation. Despite his awareness of Hook’s motives, Peter was ashamed to admit it was working - just the littlest bit.

Just then voices could be heard outside, and the door was opened. Peter was surprised at how short his bout of isolation had been. If anything it made him more weary.

Hook stormed into his cabin and beheld the boy tied to a chair. A longing to vent his anger and hurt the child filled him, forcing him to turn away.

“Get him out.” Mr Smee just looked at the Captain, not sure if he had heard him right. Hook did not appreciate the delay. “Get him out!” Mullins and Scourie jumped at their Captain’s sudden ferocity and rushed to where Pan sat. “Lock him in the brig. I don’t want to look at him.” The two crewmen quickly untied Peter (who had already geared himself up for another fight) and wrestled him from the room. Smee closed the cabin door behind them and turned back to his Captain.

“I should claw myself with my own hook, Smee. Not to kill Pan when I had the chance! What have I done, Smee?” Mr Smee merely continued to look at Hook, not sure if he was meant to answer or not. “...Agreed to a preposterous plan, an absurd war. Now I’m bound by my indefatigable good form to wait.”

Hook slumped behind his desk, tired and bitter. “Wait for what? Whether it be three days or three decades, he’ll always be a fat, old Pan. Oh, I hate being disappointed, Smee. And I hate living in this flawed body! And I hate living in Neverland! And I HATE Peter Pan!” Unable to control his frustration any longer, Hook plunged his namesake deep into the tabletop, ripping it out again almost instantly. 

Smee jumped at the sudden and violent display, whimpering under his breath. He didn’t know how to help or what to suggest... he just wanted the Captain to calm down before he turned on the crew or him!

Thankfully, in a heartbeat, Hook’s rage seemed to subside only to be replaced with a melancholic self-pity. “My career is over. This was supposed to be the war to end all wars.”

“And it will be, Captain.”

“The ultimate war.” Smee began fussing around the room, preferring to be a moving target rather than a sitting duck should Hook find his anger again.

“There must be a way to get at him, Smee... to get even with him... to get him where it really would hurt. There must be something I haven’t thought of. Where is he vulnerable?” The bo’sun opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it just in time. Hook had a habit of thinking out loud when Smee was in the room, but he cared for the man’s opinion very little.

Instead, Smee busied himself by fixing his Captain a drink. But as he lifted a decanter to a glass, the two met and struck a reverberating note that seemed to punctuate Smee’s sudden and rare formation of an idea. 

“I’ve just had an apostrophe.”

Hook glanced up briefly before allowing his head to sink once more into his hands. Voice muffled by this position, he interjected “I think you mean an ‘epiphany’.”

“Lightning has just struck my brain.”

“Well, that must hurt.”

“Pan’s kids...”

“What about them?” Hook was becoming increasingly annoyed by Smee’s long pauses and idiotic hesitation.

“You could make them like you.”

Hook smirked at the very idea. “So what?”

“We could make the little buggers love you!”

“No, Smee. No little children love me.”

“Captain, that is the point.” Smee’s voice was beginning to fill with excitement.

“What do you mean?” Hook’s interest had started to build despite himself.

“That is the ultimate revenge.”

“What is?” He was growing very tired of the man’s reluctance to get to the point!

“Imagine Pan’s puss when he faces you, and his kids are standing there, ready to fight for the sleaziest sleaze of the seven seas, Captain James Hook. Oh, captain, it’s beautiful!”

Comprehension finally illuminated the Captain’s face. “Yes, I see.” He stood and circled his desk with a pondering expression. “You know, Smee... I like it! Oh, Smee, what a superb idea I’ve just had! Tomorrow, I’ll make Pan’s brats love me. Oh, Peter Pan will fly again. He’ll remember how. And if he doesn’t those dirty Lost Boys will jog his memory. Oh, yes you’ll see. He’ll crow, he’ll fight, he’ll fly... and then he’ll die.” Smee was rather disturbed by the manic laughter that arose from Hook, and was grateful when it subsided and the Captain retired for the night.

Neither thought of the boy Pan, locked deep down in the bowels of the ship, shivering for lack of a blanket, and parched for the lack of water. Pleased that Hook seemed to be leaving him alone for now, Peter curled himself up a little tighter and urged himself to sleep. 

Chapter 7

It seemed to Peter that he had been shut away in the brig for an age! His only human contact since being thrown in there was a very brief visit from Cockson delivering a bowl of water and a stale bread roll.

He wondered where Jack and Maggie were now. He worried much more for them than for himself... He did not consider why.

Feeling refreshed from his drink, Peter recommenced his shouting and demands for release. He didn’t truly expect anything to come of this din; he merely hoped to be an annoyance to Hook and his men. Peter was somewhat shocked then, when the hatch down to the brig was pulled open and heavy footfalls marched towards his cell. 

He jumped down off the prison bars he had been climbing and stood defiantly as Mullins, Smee and Turely came into view. 

Hook grinned as his nemesis was forced to sit before him. He even had to suppress a bout of laughter as Peter’s ankle was chained to the desk he now sat behind. The look of confusion on the boy’s face was delightful, and the Captain revelled in the feeling of power he now held over the brat.

Peter stopped struggling against Mullins, gathering his thoughts as Turely chained his leg. He didn’t know what Hook was up to, which made him increasingly uneasy. The desk in front of him had paper and quill on it, and beyond a blackboard was positioned within easy view. Next to his, two more table and chairs stood unoccupied, but he had a good idea of who their occupants would be.

As if on cue the cabin door opened and two pirates escorted Jack and Maggie to their seats. Peter watched them eagerly, verifying that they had not been physically harmed, and relieved to be with them again. He opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Hook’s vigilance.

“Keep your mouth shut, Pan!” The command was a growl, and even Peter was taken aback a little by the man’s sudden ferocity. 

He looked about the scene again and was abruptly struck by what it all meant; He was at school.

“No!” he squealed, shooting up from his seat only to be grabbed roughly by Mullins and forced back down. “No... I won’t! I won’t go to school, I won’t!” He wriggled in an effort to free himself of Mullins strong hands, but they remained firmly on his shoulders.

“Oh...” purred Hook “I’m afraid you’re already there.” He could no longer contain himself, his dark laughter filling the room. Pan scowled, disgusted that Hook was forcing him to sit through what would surely be a mockery of learning.

Jack and Maggie just continued to sit in silence, still too overwhelmed with their predicament and fearful of the hook-handed pirate captain. 

“Now pay attention, class. We have a lot to go over.” Hook proceeded to scratch on the chalkboard with his latest attachment. “‘Lesson one: Why parents hate their children.’” Swooping around he surveyed the room. “Anyone?”

After some silence, Maggie leaned toward her brother and questioned, in a hushed tone, “Doesn’t mummy read to us every night?” Hook was in front of her in an instant, the blade of his appendage buried in the desk before her. 

“You, the cute little urchin in the front row... Won’t you share your thoughts with the whole class?” Maggie’s fear was fleeting, and Peter could not help but grin as the girl stood up to the pirate captain.

“Yes. I said mummy reads to us every night because she loves us very much.”

“Loves you?” Hook seemed rather taken aback. “No, child. I think your mother reads to you every night in order to stupefy you to sleep, so that she and daddy can sit down for three measly minutes without you and your mindless, inexhaustible, unstoppable, repetitive and nagging demands: ‘He took my toy... She hit my bear... I want a potty... I want a bicky... I want to stay up... I want I want I want!.. Me me me me!.. mine mine mine mine!.. now now now!’” Peter’s eyebrows furrowed as he considered the man’s words. Although he did not want to agree with Hook on any matter, this time the old Codfish was right.

“Can’t you understand child? They tell you stories to shut you up.”

“And conk you out” interjected Smee.

Maggie’s cheeks reddened and her eyes began to tear. “That’s not true, Jack. You’re a liar!” the little girl almost spat with rage.

“Lie? Me? Never! The truth is far too much fun. Oh, my child,” Hook knelt before her, too close for comfort in Peter’s opinion. “before you were born your parents would stay up all night together just to see the sunrise. Maggie, before you were born they were happier. They were free.” 

She slowly shook her head in disbelief and whispered “You’re a bad man.” Hook merely smiled and stood.

“Smee, flunk the maggot.”

“Abso-flogging-lutely.” obeyed Smee, writing a huge letter ‘F’ on the parchment in front of Maggie. 

“An ‘F’? An ‘F’?! He gave me an ‘F’!” The little girl was incredulous. Peter did not really understand the significance of this, but from Maggie’s reaction, he gathered it must be something bad. Not knowing how to help, however, he contented himself with glaring hatefully at his enemy, who had now turned his attention to the other boy.

“Jack. Your father went to your sister’s school play, did he not? But did he go to your baseball game?” Jack’s eyes widened.

“How do you know about that?”

“He missed the most important game on what might have been the most important day of your young life.”

“I want to tear your hook off!” Maggie screamed as she shot from her and grabbed the Captain’s namesake with both hands, tugging at it with all her might. Peter and Jack just stared on, dumbfounded by the girls sudden and passionate display of defiance. “I hate, I hate you, Mr Hook!” 

The man merely stood looking down at her as she continued her efforts. “What did I tell you, Smee? No little children love me.”

“Of course they do.” the bo’sun assured him. “Come on you... you’re depressing the captain.” he said as he hoisted Maggie off her feet and under his arm. Peter jumped from his chair and ran to her aid, forgetting that he was chained. In a moment the chain became taught and he fell painfully to the floor. In another, Mullins was roughly grabbing him, forcing him back into his chair, and Maggie was almost out the door. 

She just had time to shout to her brother “Jack, you listen to me! Neverland makes you forget! Never forget mummy and daddy! Think of a way to run home, Jack. Run home!” and then she was gone. 

“Run home?” murmured Jack as he watched the cabin door close on Smee and his sister.

“Jack.” The Captain crouched beside him, putting his hook in front of the child’s face to demand his attention. “You are home. Right?”

Chapter 8

Peter scowled venomously as Cookson unlocked the brig, trying to resist the desire to hug his knees even tighter. He was not afraid of these pirates! If he was showing fear, Cookson did not seem to care or notice; he just slid the tin cup and bowl towards the boy and commenced relocking the cell door.

Once the man was gone, Peter uncurled and looked over at the food disdainfully. He was sure it would be disgusting, but he was getting so hungry. At closer inspection, the gruel did smell awful, but the crust of bread, though stale, was edible enough. The rum however, was foul and difficult to swallow. He wished so much for water. Then it occurred to him... his favourite game!

When living with the Lost Boys, Peter would often play pretend with them, and their most practised pretend was food. Often they would go for days without really eating, their imaginations sustaining them as if they’d been dining heartily. Peter knew it would take great effort to turn this meal into something good, but at least the effort might keep him occupied for a while.

First he needed to imagine the smell; he closed his eyes, and soon the sweaty stench of gruel was replaced with the subtle scent of carrot soup. Peter could see it there before him, a delicious bowl of orange liquid, wisps of steam wafting from it. He gathered the bowl into his hands and gulped it down, soon wishing there had been more.

He was, of course, unaware of the wonderful feast the Lost Boys were currently enjoying with his older self. As he dozed back into uneasy sleep, he fancied he could hear a sweet voice singing him a lullaby.

Chapter 9

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock... The Captain’s neatly-trimmed moustache began to twitch in time with the sound of the pocket-watch in Jack’s hand. The constant ticking seemed to increase in volume, echoing in Hook’s unconscious mind; growing until he could bare it no longer. His eyes snapped open and, now awake, he realised the sound was not of his nightmares but of the waking world! His eyebrows furrowed as he sat and uncorked his vicious namesake. “What is it? I hear it. I hear it again.” Hook was obviously still half-asleep, agitatedly mumbling and darting about the cabin, as if expecting to be attacked by some unseen assailant. “Smee, it’s that crocodile back from the dead! Tick-tock... tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock!” He came to stand over the boy, still lying on the settee, but awake now also. ”Is that the clock?” the pirate enquired, mainly to himself. He raised his hook above his head, and was about to drive it home when a grinning Smee leapt in front of him, holding the offending timepiece in his nervous hand.

“You killed that croc years ago, captain. We smash every clock we find.” Glancing back at a fearful Jack he added, “Little elf didn’t know any better.” 

Hook considered him for a moment, the mists of sleep finally clearing from his mind, and his wits returning fully. “To the museum, at once. And invite Pan.”

Peter wriggled in the crewman’s grasp; he had also been sleeping, and felt disorientated as he was dragged from his cell and off the ship. Now he was standing outside a rickety shambles of a building, similar to the rest of the pirate town, as Captain Hook almost skipped up the steps with delight, Jack being ushered in after him by Bo’sun Smee. When Peter was shoved into the building as well, he saw its single room was stuffed with clocks; clocks of all shapes and sizes. It felt eerie.

“Ah...” exclaimed Hook, “broken clocks. Each one ticked its last tock, and now all is well. Just listen.”

“I don’t hear anything.” answered Jack.

“I know! Good form! Exactly!” Peter had not seen Hook so elated since the last time he’d almost managed to kill him. Pan had never realised how passionate the pirate captain was about clocks. 

“I knew you weren’t one to carry a watch, Hooky... but this is mad, even for you!” Hook shot him an angry glare, to which Peter returned a mischievous grin; but then the captain just ignored him.

“Jack, you see this?” He held up a golden alarm clock, dangling from his hook. “Come over here. You can take it.” Jack obliged “This is Barbecue’s very own bedside clock. He was quite an infamous pirate.” Peter moved to Jack’s side to look at the object himself. He should have been trying to escape, he knew... but his curiosity was easily caught, even in times of danger. “You see, Jack, I smashed this clock immediately after I gutted him.” Hook was pleased to see the flicker of a smile cross both of the boys’ faces. He’d always known Pan had a pirate in him somewhere, and it seemed his son did, too. It was also enjoyable to goad the boy by pretending to ignore him. After a while Peter was bound to lose his temper and give Hook an excuse... not that he needed one, of course.

“His ship made such a pretty bonfire on the waves!” interjected Smee. Both men burst into sinister laughter at the thought of death and destruction, but were soon interrupted by a gentle tick, tick, tick. At the sound, Hook’s laughter morphed into a gasp. “What is that I hear?” 

Both boys looked down at the clock in Jack’s hands. After holding it to his ear to make sure, Jack swiftly put it behind his back, and Peter moved to stand a little in front of him protectively.

“A ticking... No!” Staggering backwards, Hook inadvertently crashed into some clocks, setting the whole room off with cuckoos and chimes and tick-tocks. “Smee, stop it!” screamed the captain. “Stop the ticking! Stop that! Stop that ‘tick-tick’!” Both boys crumpled with laughter as Smee took up a wooden mallet and began hitting every clock-face in sight. Peter could not believe how upset Hook was getting at the sound of a clock, even with its connection to the man-eating crocodile.

“There’s no ticking here.” insisted Smee. “There’s nothing left to tick.” Jack and Peter grinned at one another, trying to hold back their chuckles. Hook suddenly moved towards them. Peter jumped back on instinct, but Jack just stood as the alarm clock was hooked out of his grasp.

“This is for the ticking that might have been.” said Hook as he smashed the clock down, silencing it. “Get his father’s watch!” Smee obeyed, placing the pocket-watch Banning had given to his son onto a table. Peter was a little perplexed as to Hook’s motives, but remained quiet. 

Hook turned to Jack: “Go on.” He said, as Smee handed Jack the mallet. “You know you want to.” He gestured to the watch. “Give it a try.” Jack moved towards it, testing the weight of the mallet in his hands. Raising it above his head he said; “This is for never letting me blow bubbles in my chocolate milk!” then brought the hammer down watched the hundreds of tiny pieces fly. Once he had started, it seemed Jack did not want to stop, turning to every intact clock face:

“For never letting me jump on my own bed!”  
“For always making promises and breaking them.”  
“For never doing anything with me.”

All the while, Hook was giving him words of encouragement, and Peter was itching to have a go.

“Peter.” As if he had read his mind, Hook held out the mallet to him. “Fancy a try?” Peter glared at the man, distrustful of him; why would he want Peter to have fun, and why would he offer him a potential weapon? “You know you want to.” It was a battle inside him then. He really did want to, but he loathed the idea of obliging Hook and joining in with his sadistic past-times. But his hunger for fun finally won out, and he reached out to take the mallet from his enemy.

Grabbing the suddenly and wrenching him close, Hook warned; “Try hitting anything other than clocks with that, and I’ll shoot you in the foot.” Peter gulped then chastised himself for betraying fear. But it was a real threat, and if he couldn’t run then he couldn’t hope to escape. Brushing off this sudden stab of worry, Peter grinned at his captor once more and gave him a wink, relieved when Hook let him go. As Pan ran about the room, smashing every clock into oblivion, he barely noticed the pirate captain crouch down in front of the other boy, or the tears that began to trickle down Jack’s face. 

When he did finally stop and look around, Hook was holding up a small ball to Jack. “Have I ever made a promise, Jack, I have not kept? Have I, son?” Peter scowled. 

Chapter 10

Peter continued to scowl as he sat on the bench below Hook. The pirates on the field were running about like idiots. It wasn’t fair! Peter had expressed this when Hook told him he wouldn’t be playing, and got a hard clip-round-the-ear for it. Now he was being forced to watch, tied at the captain’s feet like a dog! At least it was only with rope and not a chain. If only he could think of a way to get back at Hook.

“Confound it, Drucilla,” demanded the man himself, “glove me! The game is about to start.” One of those ugly women, a blonde-haired one who was sat next to the captain, obediently detached the silver hook from its place and replaced it with a baseball glove. Peter snorted with laughter, but neither of them heard. Then, looking at where the hook was lying beside its owner, Peter was struck by the perfect revenge for the captains little cruelties; Peter would steal Hook’s hook and escape!

It was Jack’s turn to bat, and Peter watched as he took up his position. “Jackie boy! Jack!” Good, thought Peter... Hook will be concentrating on the game. “This is for all the games your daddy missed. Hook would never miss your game, son.” Peter casually shifted along the bench, then inched back towards his prize.

“Wait for the good pitches.” Peter froze. A pirate was watching from behind. From the sound of it, he was right next to the table where the hook lay. A gunshot grabbed Peter’s attention as a crew-member was gunned down for stealing second, then the Captain stood up and started bellowing orders at his men. There was plenty of distraction, and it would be so easy if it were not for that pirate sat behind him. Peter risked a glance over his shoulder to properly gage the man’s position. He stared as he beheld Jack and Maggie’s father, dressed as a pirate and intently watching his son. It must be a rescue attempt; but it was poorly timed. All eyes were on Jack, and Maggie was still being held in one of the town buildings. Peter continued to stare, Banning seemingly oblivious to his gaze.

Turning back to the game, Peter saw Smee was about to pitch. As the ball reached him, Jack swung with all his might and the ball flew out of sight over the makeshift rooftops. The crowd exploded with cheering and applause. Hook stood once again – “My Jack!” – and made his way down to where the victorious boy celebrated with his teammates. This was Peter’s chance. He turned to see Banning was no longer there. Grabbing up the hook, he used it to cut the rope that secured his ankle to the bench-leg and crawled through the gap between the table and a barrel. The noise of excitement continued as he climbed down to the decking and ran inland, as fast as he could. Hook did not even realise Pan was gone until he went to reattach his hook. 

Chapter 11

Thud and the other Lost Boys were still questioning what they had seen as they made their way back home; as they were leaving the pirate-town after their failed game with Peter, a boy had run past them and disappeared into the jungle. What was so perplexing was that the boy had been the spitting image of Peter Pan... Peter Pan as he was when they first knew him.

“Well, it couldn’t have been Peter because he’s a grown-up now”, deduced Thud. 

“It sure looked like Peter Pan”, Don’t Ask insisted.

“Yeah, he sure did.”

“Well it wasn’t!” Thud exclaimed. “It was just some poor kid escaping from the pirates. They’ve always got a few Lost Boys locked up.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t recognise him as a Lost Boy... I recognised him as Peter.”

“But we already have Peter!”

“Maybe Banning’s an imposter after all.”

“HE IS NOT!”

“Take that back, Ace!”

The boys continued their squabbling all the way back to camp, but their fears and suspicions were doused soon after when a fully grown Peter Pan flew across the sky.

Peter was resting under a tree. He knew Hook would come looking for him as soon as he discovered he had escaped, but he had paused to rest and decide where to go from there. He had found himself running in the direction of his underground home at first, but then realised that this would be the first place Hook would look for him, so he had changed course and ended up deep in the forest, near the Indian encampment. He was just trying to remember whether he currently had a truce with the Indians or not when he was distracted by the sound of children cheering, joined moments later with the ringing of a warning bell. Too intrigued to ignore his curiosity, Peter headed towards the sounds.

Peter was realising he was nearing the underground house when suddenly the cheering and noise stopped. He stopped too, and listened. Perhaps it was some sort of trap by Hook after all. But just as Peter had decided to go back, he heard crowing. This was not the crowing of birds, but the crowing of boys. It was his sound of triumph. But now it was being mimicked by what sounded like fifty other children.

As he stepped into a clearing, Peter beheld a jumble of a settlement; countless tree houses and platforms were connected with rope ladders, handmade toys were lying about the ground, and finger-paintings covered the rock faces that naturally surrounded this makeshift town. Peter stood staring for a minute; just like the pirate town, these structures had not been there when Peter had left this place only a few days ago.

Peter was pulled from his thoughts suddenly as two small boys ran into view. They were there so quickly Peter had not had time to react or hide. The two children came to a halt as soon as they noticed him, and both stared, open-mouthed.

“PAN!” The boy screamed so loudly, Peter jumped. He turned to run but seemingly from nowhere boys began appearing everywhere. Before he knew it he was surrounded. Instinctively his hand went to his dagger that was not there.

The boys closed in on him, all staring, dumbfounded. Peter could do nothing but stare back, his body tensed for an attack. 

“Peter?” A boy his age stepped closer. Peter instinctively took a step back but then realised the boy had called him by his name.

“Who are you?” Peter’s voice was full of distrust. The boy looked a little upset, but answered.

“It’s me. Ace. Don’t you remember?”

Peter beheld the boy in front of him for a long moment, but there was no inkling of recognition to be found.

“I don’t know you. I don’t know any of you! What are you doing on my island?!”

All the boys began to look down-heartened, but none offered any explanation for their presence. A disturbance at the back of the crowd caught Peter’s attention and he watched as another boy pushed his way to the front. As he got there and locked eyes with Peter, he audibly gasped. Peter stared back, taking in this boys strange appearance; He was older than Peter, dressed almost entirely in black, with red stripes in his hair.

“Peter? What? What the hell’s going on?!” This the boy demanded of no one in particular. Then he turned to the boy closest to him. “Go get Peter!” The boy obediently hurried off. “Peter...” the older boy continued, “it’s me, Rufio.”

“What are you doing here? Go away!” 

“Peter, we’re the Lost Boys.” All the others nodded vigorously in agreement. “We’re your Lost Boys. Or we were.”

“No your not! Why are you lying?!”

“Rufio?!” This voice was a grown-ups. Peter was filled for a moment with panic until he recognised the man pushing through the crowd towards him. “What’s the matt...” Banning broke off mid-word as he recognised his younger self glaring back at him.

“Peter? How did you escape?”

Peter took in the man’s new appearance; he was dressed like himself, clothed in skeleton leaves, and his hair was messy and unkempt. “You were on Hook’s ship. Your Jack and Maggie’s father.”

“Yes, that’s right. You tried to help me.”

“I did help you. You just managed to mess it all up.”

“They made me walk the plank.”

“You still left Jack and Maggie there.” 

This hurt Banning, and he visibly flinched as though stung by a wasp.

“Peter?!” Rufio cut in, “What is going on?! You told us you were Pan... I mean... You are Pan! You can fly!” 

“You can fly?!” Peter looked incredulous.

“I am! I remembered everything. I remember being his age.” Banning said, gesturing to Peter.

“So... This isn’t Peter?” piped up Latchboy, doing the same. Peter shot him a scowl.

“No, he is. We both are. I thought Hook was nuts when he said it, but we’re the same person... just from different times. Tink?! Help me explain.”

Tinkerbell’s light appeared from high up in the trees where she had been listening. As she flew down Peter could not help smiling and running a few steps towards her.

“Tink! What’s going on? Who are all these kids?” Tinkerbell still found it hard to look at the boy, knowing she could not keep him.

“It’s alright, Peter. I know you don’t know them, but these are your Lost Boys. You can trust them. And you can trust Jack and Maggie’s father, too.”

Peter eyed Banning again. “He’s not me.”

“Yes he is, Peter.”

“NO HE’S NOT! He’s a grown-up! I’ll never grow up!” 

“You would under certain circumstances, Peter.”

“NO I WOULDN’T! You’re lying, Tink!”

“I am not lying, you silly ass! Just trust me!”

Peter looked down at his feet. He did not understand any of this. All he wanted was for his island to go back to the way it was; just him and Tink.

“Peter,” Banning stepped forward and knelt down in front of him. “I promise I’ll help you to get home as soon as we’ve rescued Jack and Maggie. Okay?” 

Peter looked Banning in the eye, but seemed unsure. “You give your word?”

“I give my word. And my word is my bond.”

Peter could not help the smile that flickered across his lips. Banning grinned back as the Lost Boys started cheering.

Chapter 12

The cheering of the Lost Boys had escalated into a full-blown party, and Peter was feeling better. He was free from the pirate ship and was having fun. To be honest, he was also enjoying having new Lost Boys to talk to again. Perhaps he should get some more when things went back to normal.

Both his thoughts and the merriment of the party were shattered by the gunshot that rang out not thirty feet away. Everyone was silenced as they turned to see Captain Hook glaring down at them all from one of the rock formations. Then they all noticed the other pirates surrounding them.

“You’ve got some guts, Hook!” Rufio shouted. 

“How so, boy? I could burn down your little village and slaughter your little brats whenever I please.”

“Is that so? Funny you never did, then!”

“Rufio,” Banning placed a hand on riled boy’s arm to calm him. “I’ll handle this. What do you want, Hook?”

“Well, I thought that would be obvious. I want the boy back.”

Banning instinctively started pushing Peter behind him, shielding him from Hook’s gaze, but Pan was not easily intimidated by the pirate captain. Breaking away from Banning’s gesture, Peter took a few steps forward. 

“If you want me, Hook, you’ll have to fight me fair and square!”

“If we’re talking about fairness, boy, perhaps we should examine the fairness of you being here.”

“I escaped. Fair. It was your own fault for being a lousy captor!”

“It hardly seems fair to change the rules at this late stage. You see, Pan, you’re merely a piece in this game; and how fair is it for one side to have two Peter Pans, while the other only has one Hook?”

Peter frowned at the pirate. Hook had a point.

“I’d also wager you are more important to me than young Maggie, while she is more important to Mr. Banning than you are.”

Both Peter and Banning were speechless. Peter looked back at the man, trying to gage his reaction to Hook’s throw-away comment. Both knew what Hook had said was true. Banning looked down at his feet, and Peter knew he would no longer find protection there, so instead he tried to run. Flight, however, meant Banning was much quicker, and he had hold of Peter’s arm before the boy could take another step. Peter tried to pull away but Banning pulled him closer.

“Peter... please. You’re stronger than Maggie. She’s just a little girl. Will you go back, for her sake?”

This was so unfair. The last thing Peter wanted was to be under Hook’s control again. But how could he forfeit Maggie’s freedom and possibly even risk her life by running? Hook was a calculating bastard.

Sighing heavily, Peter gave a small nod of defeat and began to walk towards the captain. Two crew-members grabbed him roughly before he could get there though, one tying his hands together tightly. They then thrust him towards Hook who smiled down at the scowling child before him, reaching his hand out to stroke his face. Peter flinched at the man’s touch and tried to pull away. Hook just chuckled.

“Where’s my daughter?!” Banning called out.

“On my ship, of course” replied the captain in an amused tone.

“When will you release her?”

“I suppose when you’ve won the war!”

“You said you would exchange her for the boy!”

“I said no such thing.”

“But you implied...”

“My good man, promising and implying are remarkably different things!” Hook let out a sinister laugh and was joined by his crew. “Now, none of you try anything foolish, or Peter will get a knife in the gut. By the way... nice outfit!”

And with that, Banning, Tink, and the Lost Boys watched the pirates drag Peter back to their ship.

Chapter 13

Hook strode across the beach to where the longboats were bobbing in the surf. Peter wriggled in the hands of Alf Mason, who had kept tight hold of him the whole way from the Lost Boy’s village. Pan resisted as Mason pushed him forward to stand right in front of Hook once again.

“By the way,” Hook almost purred, not looking at the boy, “where is my hook?”

Peter glanced down at the shining iron claw where the captain’s right hand should have been.

“It’s on your wrist, genius.” Burning pain filled Peter’s head as Hook grabbed a fistful of the child’s hair and pulled, glaring down at him, anger bubbling in his eyes. 

“Impudent brat! You know very well I am referring to the one you stole from me!”

“Oh,” Peter swallowed quickly as he heard his voice was threatening to break, “that one. I threw it away.”

“Where?” Hook gave another tug.

“In the forest somewhere. I don’t know!”

Hook’s voice became low and malevolent. “Then prepare to be punished severely.” He released his hold of Pan’s hair.

“Wouldn’t I have been any way?” Another shot of pain as Hook backhanded him across the face was his only answer.

Peter stood defiantly in the middle of the deck, keeping his eyes fixed on Hook as the rest of the crew looked on excitedly. The captain sneered down at the boy with disdain for some time, then a menacing grin spread across his weathered face.

“A night in The Box” was all Hook declared. 

Peter’s eyes widened as he heard his sentence, although completely unaware of what ‘The Box’ was exactly. Nevertheless, he tensed, ready to fight despite his hands being tied.

Peter watched as a large chest was carried out of the hold and placed on deck next to him. He stared at it, realising that this was The Box Hook had spoken of, and that he, Peter, would apparently be spending the night in.

“Shall I fetch Master Jack, Captain?”

“No, Smee. I don’t think he’s quite ready to see this sort of thing. We don’t want to upset him before the big battle, do we?” Smee nodded and everyone’s attention fell back to Pan.

At a subtle nod from their smirking captain, Cecco and Mullins began to approach the boy. Peter stayed very still until Cecco reached for his arm and Mullins went to grab his other shoulder. With all of his force, Pan threw back his elbow into Mullins chest, and ducked under Cecco’s outstretched arm. Mullins stumbled back and sat on the deck, gasping for breath as Cecco spun in an attempt to grab hold of the boy. Peter dodged Cecco once again and made a dash for the side of the ship. But by now the entire crew was racing after him, and he had barely swung one leg over the railing before he was grabbed and wrestled back onto the deck. 

“Ow! Let go of me!”

Peter struggled desperately against the many men now pulling him back towards The Box, but they were too powerful. Someone suddenly slugged him hard in the stomach, and he could do nothing but cough in pain as the lid of the chest was heaved open and he was thrown inside. He reached his arms up to try to keep the lid from shutting, but a hand was suddenly on his face, pushing him down. Then there was darkness.

Chapter 14

Jack stood in front of the Captain’s cabin, the Captain himself at his side. He was dressed exactly as Hook, and it made Peter want to scream. Only just having been pulled from that terrible chest where he had been forced to spend the night, Peter was still bleary-eyed and disorientated, and he half wondered if this was just an awful hallucination. 

Bo’sun Smee carried a large wooden box over to his captain and opened the lid. Inside, Peter could see it was full of garish earrings, of the style worn by most of the crew, all of whom were gathered on the deck below, watching.

Selecting a fairly large, golden hook from the box, Hook leaned down to Jack’s level. “Do you know, Jack, it’s a very special time when a pirate receives his first earring. Such a very, very beautiful feeling. It’s like the first time you run someone through with your blade.” 

At this, the crew jeered their agreement.

“Peter.” 

Hook’s head snapped around to look the other boy in the eye so suddenly, Peter almost flinched. The captain’s current cheerful disposition also filled him with dread.

Hook’s smile widened to a grin. “You can go first.”

Before the man’s words had sunk in, Peter felt himself being pushed forward by two crewmen. He pushed back and resisted, trying to plant his feet, but they had soon ferried him towards their Captain’s side.

“No! I’m not getting one of them. I don’t want one!” Hook just continued to smile down at him.

Now, Peter... I’m going to ask you to bend your head ever so slightly.” 

“Ask away... I’m not bloody doing it!” But Peter had little choice as Mason pushed him against the railing and forced his head down to one-side. He struggled, but Mason held firm, pulling harder on the boy’s head until Peter thought his neck would snap. He could do nothing but be still as Hook slowly circled to his right side and brought his claw down close to his ear to take aim.

“That’s it. And brace yourself, lad. Because this is really going to hurt.”

Peter’s eyes widened, and he wanted more than anything to pull away, but it was too late. The sharpened point of the iron hook pierced the flesh of his ear so suddenly that, at first, Peter did not feel the pain. But moments later, when the hook had been withdrawn and the blood started to drip profusely down his front and onto the deck below, Peter felt the stinging begin and hadn’t the time to bite back his scream. Mason’s hold lessened and Peter covered his ear with both hands, collapsing onto the deck and watching, horrified, as the blood pooled around him.

“Oh, calm down, boy!” Hook knelt down beside him. “It’s only a bit of blood. Show me your ear.”

Peter was now struggling to breathe calmly between sobs. “No!” he managed to get out, “Get away from me!” Hook ignored his demand and grabbed one of Peter’s hands away from his bleeding ear. Mason grabbed the other, tightening his grip as the boy began to struggle against him.

“Let go of me!” 

Mason dragged Pan to his feet, Hook standing also. Retrieving the gold hook earring once again from its box, Hook attached it to Peter’s newly pierced earlobe.

“Very nice” said the captain, after stepping back to admire his own handy-work. “Now, Jack... I hope you’re not going to make such a fuss.”

“Take it out!” Peter shouted, “I don’t want it! Take it out! I’m not a filthy Pirate!” This earned Peter a ruff shake from Mason, but Hook just smiled and turned back to the other boy.

Hook gently tilted Jack’s head to the side, brushing the boy’s new, inexplicable curls back from his ear. Taking careful aim with his namesake, Hook’s action was halted by the sound of a dagger cutting through sail.

Chapter 15

The scrap of sail floated to the deck, leaving a cut-out silhouette which was filled a moment later by a grown Pan. All eyes were on the man clothed in skeleton leaves and floating effortlessly in mid-air, hands on hips. A sly smile slid onto the Captain’s face.

“Who is that, captain?” asked Jack, gazing up at the strange figure.

“It’s Peter Pan.” Hook replied. The boy Pan looked at him incredulously, then back at the grown-up he knew as Jack and Maggie’s father. “Has it been three days?” Hook continued, with a note of disbelief. “‘Tis true, Peter; time does fly.” At this, Banning somersaulted to the deck, causing the crew to step back in surprise. “And so do you, I see.”

A serious expression on his face, Banning climbed the stairs towards the captain. He glanced at his son, then at the boy covered in blood, being held back by one of the crew. Returning his gaze to Hook, Banning announced, “Hand over my son and Peter now, and you and your men may go free.”

“Why don’t you ask the lad yourself?” Hook turned his attention to his little likeness, “Jack, someone to see you, son.”

Banning’s expression softened as he turned to address his son, “Jack, give me your hand; we’re going home.” His face dropped as the child backed away from him and moved to the Captain’s side.

“I am home.”

“Jack! No!” Peter was aghast. Surely Jack couldn’t want to stay with Hook?! He tried to pull from Mason’s grasp, but the pirate would not let go. Hook was, all the while, chuckling.

“Good form! You see, Peter, he is my son... he loves me dearly... And I’m prepared to fight dearly for him.” He suddenly drew his sword, but Banning was quick to mirror him. “Peter Pan, prepare to meet thy doom!”

“Dark and sinister man, have at thee!”

At this, the entire crew also drew their weapons, those behind Hook running at Banning. In response, Banning back-flipped back down to the main deck, taking on the crew single-handedly. Peter watched as his grown self held his own against the pirates, all the while desperately trying to get free from Mason’s grasp.

“Jack, Jack!” Banning called to his son while striking at the attacking pirates.

“Don’t I know him, Captain?” Jack asked, while pointing at the man fighting on deck.

“No, son, you’ve never seen him before in your life.”

“Liar!” Peter exclaimed.

“Shut up!” Hook’s eyes burned threateningly at him, and Peter glared daggers in response.

“You won’t believe this,” Banning continued in merriment, “but I found my happy thought. It took me three days to find it, and guess what happened when I did?” As a whole group of pirates ran at him, Banning managed to topple them all like dominoes. “Up I went! You know what my happy thought was?” Banning took flight and came to float before his son. “It was you.”

Hook let out an angry growl as Banning turned to fly back to the fight. He slashed at a rope with his namesake, dropping a net from the rigging directly over Banning.

“No!” Peter wriggled frantically, filled with despair as the crew grabbed hold of the net and pulled Banning down with it. But as all seemed lost, Banning let out a cry, “Bangerang!”, which was immediately returned by an army of Lost Boys who suddenly appeared on the dock. 

Peter starred, dumbfounded, as the boys he had met only yesterday came to the rescue, swinging onto the ship with ropes or storming the gangplank. Looking over at Hook, Peter could see he was just as surprised, a look of disbelief quickly turning to rage. Pan could not help laughing, causing the pirate captain to remember him.

“Lock him in my cabin” This wiped the smile from Peter’s face immediately.

“No! You can’t lock me up! I’m gonna fight!” Peter resisted as Mason began to drag him to the door of the captain’s quarters. Hook smiled.

“You won’t be doing any fighting, Peter. It’s against the rules.”

“That’s not fair!” Mason dragged him into the cabin and threw him to the floor, running back out and locking the door behind him before Peter had time to regain his feet. All he could do was bang on the door with his fists and demand his release.

Outside, the battle was raging.

Chapter 16

“LET ME OUT!” Peter kicked at the cabin door, but it was no use. Peering through the frosted windows, he could make out the shapes of pirates and Lost Boys running to and fro across the ship, and he could hear the fray clearly. He could also make out the red coated Captain standing only a few feet in front of the door.

“Hook!” Peter recognised that voice as belonging to the boy with red stripes in his hair.

“Rufio.” Hook purred with relish.

“No!” came Banning’s cry, “The old man is mine.”

“Jack! Save me!” That cry belonged to Maggie, Peter was sure of it. It sounded much further away, but he could still make it out. She was in danger. Peter quickly surveyed the room, then ran to Hook’s desk. Grabbing a heavy, glass paperweight, he returned to the door and threw it through the window pain, smashing it into shards. He stuck his hand through the gap, only to find the key was not in the lock, and the door still could not be opened. He screamed in frustration.

“Peter?” Jack appeared on the other side of the door.

“Jack! Get me out of here! Please!” 

“I don’t have the key.”

“Please!”

“Okay! Hang on...” Jack disappeared for only a few moments before returning with two Lost Boys.

“Don’t worry, Peter... we’ll get you out.” Ace took out his dagger and jammed it into the latch.

“Hurry, Ace!” urged Latchboy.

“I am hurrying!” And with a sudden click, the lock was sprung.

Peter burst through the door and looked upon the battle all around him.

“Give me a sword.” Latchboy complied with his demand. Now armed, Peter smiled and ran at the nearest pirate, the two Lost Boys following delightedly.

After dispatching four crewmen, Peter started looking around for his favoured opponent. “Where’s Hook?” He looked back to where Jack was still standing in front of the captain’s cabin. 

“He went up there.” Jack pointed towards the poop deck above.

“There goes Pan!” came the cry of one of the crew, and Peter looked up to see he was referring to Jack and Maggie’s father, who was flying towards the aft of the ship himself, sword in hand. Peter ran to the steps that led to the poop deck and climbed to the top.

Hook was fighting that boy, Rufio. The youth was on his knees, apparently struggling to fend off the Captain, but still cocky and defiant.

“Looky, looky, I got Hooky!” he bragged after pinning Hook’s sword under his own. The Captain’s anger appeared to boil over, freeing his sword in a flurry and burying it into Rufio’s chest.

“Hook! NO!” Banning stopped mid air as he watched Hook run Rufio through. Peter stopped short too, unable to remember the last time he saw a Lost Boy die. He noticed Jack standing by his side, looking even more shocked. As Hook withdrew his sword, and Rufio dropped to the deck, Banning was there to catch him. The boy’s breaths were shallow and laboured, and it seemed his eyes had trouble focusing, but he managed to look at Banning.

“Do you know what I wish?”

“What?”

“I wish I had a dad like you.” And with that, Rufio’s eyes closed and he breathed no more.

“Oh, dad, I’m sorry.” Jack’s faint words were barely acknowledged. Banning’s face was full of hatred as he looked up at Hook.

“Are you ready for me Peter?” Banning stood and raised his sword. “Come on. Humour the Hook.”

“I’ll humour you, Captain!” shouted the boy Pan, raising his own sword and running to Hook before Banning could make a move. The pirate captain looked mildly shocked at first, but soon regained his composure as the boy’s sword clashed with his own.

“My dear boy, I thought we decided your joining the game would be an unfairness?”

“New rules, Codfish.” Hook’s whole countenance darkened at the old and almost forgotten insult.

“Peter, stop!” Banning stepped forward and put a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“Dad.” All three turned to look at Jack as he removed his hat and wig, “I wanna go home.”

“What are you talking about?” demanded Hook, “You are home.”

Banning walked over to his son and scooped him up into an embrace. “Peter,” he said, turning back to his child self, “Let’s go.”

Peter frowned, disappointed that he had not fought Hook, but lowered his sword and began to walk towards Jack and his father, who had turned to descend to the main deck.

“Fools!” bellowed Hook reaching forward and grabbing hold of Peter. The boy let out a cry of shock and turned to defend himself, but Hook had hold of his sword hand, and spun Peter so that he stood with his back against the Captain, Hook’s namesake threatening to open the boy’s throat.

Banning put Jack down and put his hand on the hilt of his sword. Peter winced and let out a hiss as Hook’s hook dug a little into his skin.

“Let him go, Hook. You can’t kill him... remember what Tinkerbell said...”

“Oh, I’m not going to kill him...” purred the Captain, “I’m just going to keep him indefinitely, until you and your brats fade out of existence.” Hook grinned malevolently as Banning furrowed his brow. 

“What do you want, old man?”

“Just you.”

Chapter 17

“You’ve got me, James Hook.” Banning once again raised his sword. Hook grinned, then suddenly thrust Peter into the arms of Noodler, who was standing nearby with a group of his shipmates. Peter struggled to get free until the crewman put a knife up against his throat and stilled him.

Banning lifted Jack into the air, and flew him to the relative safety of the pier. The captain made his way down the steps and across the deck, after them, calmly testing the weight of his sword and keeping his eyes fixed on his enemy. Leaving Jack with Maggie and the boys, Banning soared back over the ship, and landed to face the pirate captain. 

“Pan ‘The Avenger’ is back.” Banning mocked, with a bow.

“And the Hook is waiting, Peter Pan.” Hook replied, with a most menacing leer, and suddenly flung is sword with such force, the Banning was clearly startled. Another blow from the captain, and Banning took to the air, somersaulting backwards to the pier, where he would have time to gather himself; though not long. Hook rushed down the gangplank after him, and Noodler, wanting a good view of the action, dragged the boy-Pan to the railing. 

Below him, Peter saw the lost boys form a circle around the two adversaries and raise their own weapons; but Banning immediately halted them. “Put up your swords, boys. It’s Hook or me this time.”

“Prepare to die” the Captain said, softly, his voice full of conviction.

Banning smiled. “To die will be a great adventure.”

“Death is the only adventure you have left.” Hook sneered.

Peter could only watch as the men set-to, blades clanging loudly with the force of two very determined opponents. More than once, the Lost Boys, Jack, and Maggie had to scurry out of the way of the battle, Banning and Hook parrying back and forth with expert speed.

Peter was just close enough to hear the insults and put-downs volleying between the men, in between sword strokes, but the fight was now out of view. He sensed Noodler straining in order to catch sight of the battle, and took this opportunity to stamp down as hard as he could on the pirate’s foot. Noodler screamed in pain, arms instinctively flying down to his throbbing injury, but lunged forward the next moment, only to see Peter leap over the ship’s railing. 

The boy came perilously close to hitting the pier instead of the water, the gap between sea and wharf being only a few feet; but Peter was lucky, and surfaced with a gasp before climbing out of the water as quickly as he could. This took him longer than he expected, and an irate pirate was waiting for him as he pulled himself up onto the dock.

“You little blackguard!” Noodler roared as he made a grab at the boy, but Peter attacked the already inflamed foot, and managed to swing himself and Noddler around. After this, a gentle shove was all that was needed to send the pirate flailing into the water.

Grinning at his triumph, Pan turned back and hurtled towards the direction of the duel; but all was strangely quiet. Surely he could not have missed it?! Who had won? 

Peter ran through the ‘buildings’ of the pirate port, and, hearing the cry of the captain, arrived to see Hook on his back, the point of Banning’s sword at his throat. 

He joined the other children standing before the scene, feeling a little confounded that this grown-up had bested Captain Hook and not he. This bewilderment of the children only grew as Banning picked up Hook’s sword from where it had fallen, and proceeded to hand it back to its owner. Unsurprisingly, Hook showed gratitude for this gesture with a smile and a short, sharp slash of his namesake across Banning’s forearm. 

“Bad form!” yelled young Jack, and Peter and the boys grabbed hold of him to halt his attempt to intervene:

“Jack, stop!”

Banning looked down at his bleeding wound, then back to the pirate captain. His face was stern and dark, and his voice trembled, ever-so-slightly, with anger.

“Now we end this.”

The strokes and parries that followed were so deadly-fast, even Peter was a little impressed. It was the strength of the two adults that made the sword-play seem so ferocious; each man putting all his brawn into each swing. Peter feared that, without the ability to fly, he would no longer be a match for Hook... but he would never admit this.

Banning and Hooks foot-work had taken them to a town-square of sorts, where the giant, dead croc stood upright, a clock-face now wedged into her ferocious jaws. More lost boys appeared from every corner, and soon the opponents were encircled with anxious onlookers. Peter noted that there wasn’t a pirate to be seen, besides Hook, and realised the Lost Boys must have won their war against them.

“You blackguard!” Hook screamed. He was obviously becoming increasingly frustrated with this fight, and Banning. But it also meant he was losing concentration; a few clever ripostes from Banning, and the sword flew from the Captain’s grasp. The next moment, Hook was down on one knee, Banning’s blade once again pointed at his neck.

“Good form, Peter.” Hook’s voice was stiff, and something like shame was on his face. “I am fallen.”

Banning looked down at his enemy with calm hatred. “You killed Rufio. You kidnapped my children. You deserve to die.”

Something like concern leapt in Peter’s throat. He told himself it wasn’t concern for Hook, rather than the urge to finish off the captain himself.

“Strike, Peter Pan. Strike true.”

Resolve darkened Banning’s features, then, and he altered his weight slightly, preparing to drive the sword home. Peter felt himself take a step forward, but before he could intervene, Maggie was there, at her father’s arm.

“Daddy, let’s go home. Please? He’s just a mean old man without a mummy.” Her eyes were imploring, and Peter saw Banning’s resolve melt.

“Yeah, Dad,” Jack agreed, “let’s go. He can’t hurt us any more.”

Hook grinned. “Bless you, child. Good form, Jack. After all, what would the world be like without Captain Hook?” 

Peter couldn’t help a snort of derision, which caught Hook’s attention. The man looked at the boy as if he had forgotten the child existed. Then a light of realisation flickered in his eyes. The expression wiped the smirk off Pan’s face, and he suddenly had the feeling that he was in danger ... But then Hook’s attention was drawn back to his fully-grown adversary:

“I want you to take your ship, and go. And I never want to see your face in Neverland again.” And with that, and to the astonishment of Peter, and the disappointment of the Lost Boys (who are blood-thirsty little creatures), Banning sheathed his sword, and instead took the hands of his children.

When the three turned away, Peter noticed the change in Hook’s demeanour immediately, and grabbed a sword from the nearest Lost Boy. As he moved forward, the captain withdrew another blade, cunningly hidden in his coat, and lunged towards Banning.

The Lost Boys screamed in unison; “Peter, look out!”

But Hook was upon Banning before he could take out his own sword.

“Fools! James Hook is Neverland!”

But before he could plunge his sword into Banning’s throat, the captain’s attack was blocked by another blade. He looked to its wielder to see the little boy, Peter Pan, smiling up at him with delight.

“You?!”

“Me. Come on, Hook... Let’s play!”

Hook freed his sword from Peter's suddenly, paused a moment, then backhanded the boy with the sword's hilt. Maggie screamed. Peter’s head snapped backwards and the boy hit the ground, dropping his own sword beside him as both his hands flew to nurse his bleeding nose. Hook chuckled as he beheld the tears filling the brat’s eyes.

Chapter 18

“Peter!”

The man, Banning, knelt down by the boy with concern and helped him to his feet. Peter couldn’t bring himself to take his hands away from his face. He could feel the blood covering them, but he recovered enough composure to glare daggers at Hook.

“I won’t be fighting you, boy. Without flight, you are no match for me; there’s no challenge in it.”

“Then fight me...” suggested Banning, “... but fairly, this time!”

“No need.” A knowing smile drew up the captain’s face, and Banning’s brow furrowed questioningly at this strange remark. Hook elaborated:

“You... Your brats... You’re already doomed. Peter certainly won’t grow up now. Not of his own accord. Not now he has seen that it actually could happen. He’ll avoid it at all costs. And you will cease to be!” High-pitched cackling escaped the captain’s throat as he allowed his glee to manifest. His words seemed to sit, suspended in the silence that followed, dancing in front of Banning’s eyes as his mind mulled over their meaning.

Eventually, Banning’s gaze fell on Peter, and the boy held it, himself trying to perceive Hook’s words.

“If he doesn’t leave Neverland and grow up, you won’t exist! Nor will your children!” The pirate captain broke into cruel laughter once more, and wiped away a mocking tear from his eye.

Banning continued to stare at the boy before him. Peter wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand, and stood before the man he could become. Fear blossomed in him as he saw it reflected in Banning’s beseeching expression.

“Peter?”

“What?”

Banning gently placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders, and drew him a little closer.

“Peter... Jack and Maggie are the most precious things I have. I can’t risk their safety.”

Peter blinked in confusion, furrowing his brow.

“What do you mean?”

“You wouldn’t want them to disappear, would you? You wouldn’t let them fade out of existence?”

Peter turned and looked at Maggie. She looked from him to her father, trying to comprehend what was being said.

“No. Of course not...”

“Then you’ll grow up?”

Peter’s mouth fell open, aghast. He pulled away, stepping back from the man’s grasp.

“What? Grow up?! Are you mad?”

“Peter...” Banning reached out for the boy, but Pan quickly stepped back further.

“If you don’t grow up, we’ll die, Peter!”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Peter turned to flee, but Banning grabbed hold of his arm and wrestled him into submission. 

“No! Get off of me! Let me go!”

Banning’s grip on the boy held firm, and he looked at Hook.

“It seems we have met a stalemate.”

“It would seem...” agreed the Captain, slowly approaching the struggling child in Banning’s arms, “But I can think of no greater satisfaction than the pain Peter will feel if he is forced to grow up.”

Both man and boy stared at the Captain in confusion. 

“Take him with you. You are free to go.”

“What?! NO!” Peter began his futile struggling once more. “Hook! Please!”

This desperate plea filled the Captain with such pure delight that he had to turn away, his face beaming with unusual joy.

“I am sorry, boy, but the time has come for you to become a man.” He turned back and grinned down at the child, noting the tears that had begun to stream down Peter’s face.

“Go now, and no harm will come to your children, Mr Banning. Or your Lost Boys.” Hook gave the man a small, mocking bow, and Banning watched him for a few moments more before turning away, and dragging Peter with him.

“Jack... Maggie... we’re going home.” 

Chapter 19

There were no proper goodbyes. Peter was fighting so ferociously now, that Banning had a difficult time keeping hold of him. 

Maggie was crying, and was hugged by several of the Lost Boys before her brother pulled her away. 

“Peter, don’t leave!” begged Pockets.

“I have to, boys. I’m sorry. You’ll be alright.” 

The lost children stared at him beseechingly, but Banning quickly turned away from them, and took to the air, with Peter held firmly around the waist. 

“Tinkerbell!”

The fairy appeared before Banning dutifully, although she seemed uncomfortable as she beheld the boy Peter, struggling for freedom. 

“Tink, make my kids glow.”

She obediently fluttered above Jack and Maggie, sprinkling them with her golden dust... But their feet remained fixed to the decked floor.

“Think happy thoughts.” Prompted their father. “Think about mom.”

“Mommy?” The thought of her suddenly filled Maggie’s mind, and she drifted up into the air without even realising.

Jack thought of her too, before stepping up off the ground to join his sister.

“Go ahead. Tink knows the way. I’ll be just behind you.”

Looking at their father and the wriggling Peter for a few moments more, Jack and Maggie eventually turned to Tinkerbell, and followed as she fluttered up towards the heavens as slowly as she could manage.

“Hook.”

“Mr Banning?” The pirate was polishing his namesake with a handkerchief, looking extremely smug as he fleetingly glanced up from his task.

“Before I take Peter, you must be true to your word and allow the Lost Boys to leave.”

“As I told you, they are free to go. The men I have left will not stop them.”

Banning scowled at the captain, unconvinced, and turned to the children below.

“Back to the hideout, boys! I don’t want to leave you here.”

The Lost Boys all looked terribly glum, but turned and started dragging their feet in the direction of home. 

“Once they are safe, and far from your ship, I will leave. And don’t you ever come near my family again!” Banning’s eyes blazed as he scowled at Hook, deadly serious.

The captain held back a laugh. “Do not fear. As long as you keep that brat away from Neverland,” he said, gesturing at Peter with his namesake, “you will never hear from me again. Nor will your children... Nor will your children’s children.” 

He beamed at Banning with his most winning smile, then did the same to the boy, noting again that Pan had tears streaming from his eyes as he desperately tried to free himself.

Unimpressed, Banning turned away from his old enemy and began to fly in the direction the Lost Boys had taken.

“Farewell, Peter Pan!” called Hook, “Enjoy adulthood, boy!” And he once again burst into cackling laughter.

Chapter 20

With the Lost Boys safely away from the pirate town, there was nothing more for Banning to do than return to his family. But then, looking down at his boys, a thought occurred to him. Touching down on the forest floor, he grabbed a length of creeper and tied Peter’s hands and feet.

Finding a rag, Banning also wiped the worst of the blood from the boy’s face. His nose looked sore, but it wasn’t broken.

“Let me go!” wailed the child, “Lost Boys! Help me!”

The other children shifted uncomfortably at Peter’s pleas, and most kept their gazes downcast. When Banning had finished, he turned to his boys, and unsheathed his sword.

“So who do I leave in charge?” 

The children perked up at this. Banning walked along the line of Lost Boys, the hilt of his sword held out to them. After a few moments of contemplation, he stopped before Thud, and offered him the blade.

Thud’s mouth fell open, a delighted grin on his face as he took the sword of Pan from his Peter.

“I want you to take care of everyone who’s smaller than you.”

“Then who do I look after?” piped up Too Small.

“Never bugs.” Replied Banning. “Little ones.”

Peter had been fighting against his bonds throughout this exchange, and now tried scooting backwards as Banning, once again, approached him.

“Get away from me! Don’t touch me! I mustn’t be touched!”  
The man, of course, ignored Peter’s protests, and hoisted him back into his arms. Lifting off into the air, Banning looked down at the boys for the very last time.

Then he and Peter flew higher and higher, and were gone.

Chapter 21

The flight back to London was difficult; Peter kept fighting, and Banning lost his grip on the child more than once. Having only just regained his ability to fly, Banning found racing after the plummeting child exhausting, and he yearned to reach their destination so that he could rest.

At long last, with dawn breaking, they found themselves flying over the streets and houses of the capital, and it did not take long for Banning to get his bearings. 

As Wendy’s rooftop appeared in the distance, Banning began to descend. As soon as they landed in the back garden, Peter tried again to pull away from the man restraining him.

“Let me go!” he repeated, for the umpteenth time.

Banning took his dagger from his boot and cut the boy’s bonds, but kept a firm grip on his arm.

“I’m sorry Peter, but I can’t do that. You need to grow up.” 

“Never!” the boy hissed in disgust.

With the last ounce of pixie dust, Banning took better hold of Peter, and soared up to the nursery window. Through the net curtains, they could make out the shapes of Banning’s family, and could hear the excited voices of his children, regaling the adults with their adventure.

As Banning began tapping on the window for attention, Peter tried to pull back and panicked as he teetered on the edge of the sill. Luckily, Banning still had hold of the boys arm, and pulled him back to relative safety.

It was Jack who came to the window and pulled back the net curtain. 

“Excuse me, do you have an appointment?” his son jested, before unlatching the window. But as it opened, and Jack saw Peter there, he was reminded of him and grew quiet.

Banning dragged Peter into the room before releasing him, and hugged his son, joy and relief overcoming any fatigue. 

On seeing his wife, he put Jack down, walked straight to her, and kissed her passionately on the lips.

Peter was looking around fearfully. He remembered this room. This was Wendy’s room. Where was she?

Suddenly, he became aware of someone starring at him. He glanced over and met the eyes of an old woman. She was looking at him as though shocked. Peter felt incredibly uncomfortable under such scrutiny, and started trying to identify an escape route.

“My God,” the old woman said.

At the sound of her voice, Banning and his wife broke their embrace to look at her, and Jack and Maggie fell silent. As Moira followed Wendy’s gaze, a gasp escaped her as she beheld a boy standing by the window; a boy she recognised immediately. 

“Peter?” 

She felt the shock overwhelm her, and she collapsed to sit on the floor. The boy looked at her when she spoke his name, and scowled at her nervously.

“How?” asked the old woman.

“I don’t know,” replied Banning, “But I had to bring him.”

With everyone now staring at him, Peter also felt overwhelmed, and was mortified with himself when he burst into tears. Moira took a step towards the child, but he backed away.

“He’s just frightened.” Banning explained, “Perhaps we should make him some tea?” he suggested.

“Tea?” Moira looked a little incredulous at her husband’s casual suggestion, but relented. “Yes. Tea. Wendy? Would you like a cup?”

Hearing that name, Peter looked up. Wendy? Where? Then he realised that the lady had been addressing the old woman and, as Peter turned his gaze on her, his heart sank.

“Wendy?”

At hearing the sweet, youthful voice she remembered, Wendy gasped once again. She had wished for Peter to never see her when she was old, preferring him to remember her as the little girl she once was... But since Peter Pan had grown up, she never thought she would have to face that concern again. Yet here he was, the child she had adored. And he was in pain.

“Yes, boy. I’m Wendy.”

“No no no!” Peter shouted. “You aren’t Wendy! You can’t be!” Even though he could never keep track of time in Neverland, surely he hadn’t been gone for this long! This woman looked like she was about a hundred! It couldn’t be his Wendy-lady.

“I’m so sorry, child. But it is me.” She moved towards him, and he too fell to the floor, fresh sobs racking his body.

Just then, a lightning fast glow shot in through the window, and came to an abrupt halt in front of Banning’s nose. As it came to a stop, they could all see it was, in fact, a fairy.

“Tinkerbell!” exclaimed Banning, as he raised a hand to shield his eyes from her light.

“Peter, you need to take that boy home!” Tink demanded, pointing towards the child sitting on the floor. At her words, his sobbing subsided. 

“I can’t, Tink! If he doesn’t grow up, my kids will never exist!”

“Of course they will!” she admonished, “Don’t be such a silly ass!”

Chapter 22

All eyes were fixed on the pretty fairy. Moira looked a little faint, but she breathed deeply, and endured.

When the nursery had fallen silent, Tinkerbell continued; “That boy doesn’t affect you or your children in the slightest!”

“Do you mean... he isn’t me?” Banning looked perplexed.

“Of course he’s you! Just look at him!” They all did, and Peter squirmed slightly, under their collective gaze.

“But he,” continued Tink, “is from another time, and his time is separate from our time. Time is not one repeating loop,” she explained, “it’s many loops, crossing paths and existing in parallels.”

Everyone returned to staring at the fairy, and the faces peering at her were uncomprehending and confused. She sighed, infuriated, and tried again to explain.

“At some point, this Peter passed from his time to ours. But his time is on a completely separate path. What happens here, in our time, does not affect what happens in his time, and what happens to him does not affect our future. Bottom line; Your time-line cannot be changed by this boy. If he were to die, nothing would happen to you.. or Jack... or Maggie. If you were to die, this boy wouldn’t necessarily die at the same point in his future. You are separate from each other; you will always remain on your own, distinct paths.”

She stared exasperatedly at her grown Peter, willing him to understand. He stared back at her blankly... then blinked; his gaze flicking from the fairy, to the boy sitting on the floor, to his children, then to his wife.

“But…” Banning struggled to find the words, “But… what about our scar. When Hook cut Peter, the same scar appeared on me.”

Tinkerbell nodded, relieved that he was beginning to process what she was so desperately trying to explain. 

“Like I said, different times can overlap. If the fracture that allowed Peter to leave his own time-line and enter ours was still open, details could have been shared between both. Hook just happened to perform his ‘experiment’ at a point when the two time-lines were merged.”

“So... Hook was wrong?”

“Completely.” Tinkerbell confirmed.

“I told him a little white lie to stop him killing all of you. And you’re welcome, by the way. Now get that boy back to where he belongs!”

Banning continued to stand motionless, still waiting for comprehension to fully dawn. It was Wendy who gathered her thoughts the quickest, and turned her attention to the boy.

“Peter,” she took a step closer to him, and leaned heavily on her cane so that her weight was tilted down towards him.

Peter anxiously glanced up at her, fidgeting uncomfortably under her attention, tear tracks fresh and glistening on his cheeks.

“How did you get here?”

“He brought me.” Peter angrily gestured towards Banning. “He made me.”

“No... Before that. How did you come to this time?”

“This time?” Peter stared at the old woman for a few moments, trying to grasp her meaning.

Tinkerbell intervened.

“What was the first odd thing you noticed about Neverland recently, Peter? What was the first thing that seemed different, or unusual?”

The boy considered, trying to think back to the beginning of this awful adventure.

“Um... The pirate town. There wasn’t a town there before... and then there was.”

“He must be from a time before the pirates built their Port.” Tinkerbell surmised.

“What about before that, Peter?” she continued, “What were you doing before you found the pirate town?”

Peter’s brow furrowed as he fought to remember. It was never easy for him to recall details from past days, even if they were rather memorable.

“I was playing. I was playing Hide and Seek... with you, Tink.”

“Were you hiding or seeking?” interjected Maggie, eager to help. 

“I was seeking. But I got bored,” Tinkerbell couldn’t help the flash of annoyance that filled her face; that boy would always swan off and leave her to unknowingly play games by herself! She would often be hiding for days, only to realise Peter had long since stopped looking for her, and was busy flirting with mermaids, or infuriating Indians, instead.

“So I was going to go and race the mermaids.” Peter’s words brought Tink’s mind back to the present, but another stab of annoyance filled her as her assumptions were confirmed.

“But then I heard voices, and I found the town.”

“Something must have happened between playing Hide and Seek, and hearing the pirates.” Tink thought allowed.

“Peter,” she was now addressing her grown-up Pan, “we must take him back to Neverland and retrace his steps.” 

“Now? But we just got back!” Banning protested.

“Peter!” Moira scolded, standing. “You must take this poor boy home at once!”

“Yes, Peter. You must!” Wendy agreed, walking to Moira’s side.

Banning looked down at the exhausted child on the floor. Peter looked back up at Banning, and sniffed, his nose still running after his sobbing.

“Peter,” the man said, holding out his hand to the boy, “would you like to go home?” 

Pan scowled at Banning, and slapped his hand away, standing suddenly to adopt a defiant stance.

“I don’t want your help! Traitor! If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be in Neverland now!” 

“And if it wasn’t for me, Hook would have run you through by now!” Both Peters shot daggers at each other; their likeness was quite striking, just then.

“Oh stop it, you two!” admonished Tinkerbell. “Let’s just go!” She flew to the window and, rather astonishingly, considering her tiny size, flung it open.

Banning and Peter both sighed, begrudgingly, and Banning turned to his wife.

“Looks like I’ll be going, then.” Moira walked to her husband exhaustedly, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him deeply.

“Be careful.” she ordered, when their lips parted, her eyes boring into his. 

“I will. I’ll be right back!” a cheeky grin belaying his doubt.

“Daddy,” Maggie moved towards her father, her eyes filling with tears and her voice cracking, “I don’t want you to go. That nasty, mean man is there!”

“Yeah, Dad,” agreed Jack, “Hook’s there. He might try to kill you again.”

“Kill you?!” Moira’s face filled with horror. “Who’s trying to kill you?! Peter!”

“It’s OK! We’ll be careful.”

“Peter... If there’s some kind of danger there, then...”

“Don’t worry, Moira! I’ll just take the boy... get him home... then I’ll be right back. No one will even know we were there. Trust me!” Moira did not look convinced, but she argued no more. 

“Are you ready, Peter?” Banning asked his younger self. 

Before Peter could answer, Maggie had walked to him and flung her arms around him in a desperate hug. Peter was so surprised, it took him several moments to hug her back.

“I’ll miss you.” the little girl sobbed. 

“Thank you for helping us.” She finally pulled away, and wiped her face with her hand.

Peter smiled at her, then turned to Jack.

“Yeah, thanks for your help. And thanks for helping my dad.” The two boys grinned at each other.

“Let’s go!” called Tinkerbell.

“Peter,” The boy turned, his face now sad and sombre, to behold the old woman who called his name. 

“Take care, boy.” 

Peter considered Granny Wendy... then walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

Wendy was somewhat taken aback by this uncharacteristic display of affection, but quickly seized the opportunity to hug the child, one hand stroking his hair, like she used to do sometimes when she was a girl. 

“Peter,” said Banning, “Let’s go.”

The boy turned away from the old woman, and headed to the window where Tink was waiting. Banning began to follow, but turned once more to kiss his wife one more time.

“I’ll be right back.” he repeated. 

To be continued...


End file.
